The Doctor's Madam
by Meredith Lavern
Summary: Reinette has come aboard the TARDIS and every one must learn to adjust to their new crew member. However, when the two blondes in the Doctor's life can't seem to get along everything must change. The only problem is: was it a change for the better or worse. Oh look! Time to figure out who is Madam De Docteur.
1. I Guess I Was Wrong

"Madam De Pompadour! Still want to see those stars?", the Doctor called through the fireplace.

"More than anything", Reinette said after she had slid gracefully in front of the mantle.

"Give me two minutes. Pack a bag", he said.

"Am I going somewhere?", the French aristocrat asked with hope prevalent in her voice.

"Go to the window. Pick a star. Any star", he said with a flirty smirk.

Two minutes later, on the dot, Madam de Pompadour and a large trunk were walking through the doors of the TARDIS.

"My dear Doctor, reason lets me to believe what I am seeing can not be", She said stuck halfway through the door.

From behind her the Doctor leaned into her ear, his breath tickling the sensitive skin, his voice a low whisper, "What did I say about reason?"

My heart stopped at the quiet intensity of his voice, not much louder than a whisper, _What._

A smile slowly spread across her face as she turned her head to meet his eyes, "That one must never listen to it".

After a minute or so she was completely inside and the Doctor had sent us into the vortex.

"Dear Doctor your craft! It is magnificent!", Reinette gawked as she walked gracefully around the console.

The hem of her frock gently caressing the grating. Her hair slightly swaying to an invisible draft. She set her hands down gently upon the console, across from the jump seat.

 _Keep your dirty hands off of her_ , I thought but was quickly reprimanded by a low humming in the back of my head from a certain disapproving ship.

 _What? You actually like her?_ , I thought while raising an eyebrow.

The ship hummed happily in my head before retracting herself from me.

The woman gasped and as she brought her hand up to her face with delicate fingers coming to rest on her temple, "She is in my mind. Alive, so very alive, yet so very strange".

"She likes you, mind you, I'm not surprised. What's not to like?", the Doctor flirted.

"Right boss, mind getting everyone on the same page?", Mickey piped up from his once idle position behind me.

"Right. Right, Sorry! Mickey Smith, Rose Tyler meet Reinette Poisson, also known as Madam De Pompadour. Reinette, meet Mickey and Rose", he said with a big goofy grin on his face.

"So you are the Doctor's friends?", she said glancing at the both of us, her eyes lingering on me for a moment too long.

 _We're more than that_ , I silently thought, hoping that Doctor would correct her.

"Suppose so", Mickey said, "Wouldn't be here else wise would we?"

"Oh you both are more than just friends. You're family, Mickey, the idiot little brother-", the Doctor began to say as my heart began to sink to the floor.

"Oy, careful there mate", Mickey said.

"-and Rose is my best friend. Almost like a sister", he said with a wink.

 _That was not the correction I was hoping for_. _Actually, I think that's almost the last thing I was hoping he'd say._

"Rose Tyler here keeps me right. Couldn't do a thing without her. She's quite lovely once you get to know her too", he said.

 _Right, that's more than enough!_ , I though.

"Right, I'm going for a nice soak. Don't wait up", I said and turned around towards the nearest corridor.

Mickey caught my arm as I was turning to leave.

I looked into his eyes, "You alright?"

"Yeah. Course", I lied and glanced back as the Doctor and Reinette continued on with their two person conversation, as if I hadn't said anything.


	2. Less Coverup

I had basically run down the corridors as soon as I was far enough away that no one would hear the hurried scuffling of my shoes upon the ground. I soon found myself in my room and made sure to lock the door for the first time in more than a year.

I walked calmly over to my wardrobe and picked out a bathing suit. Nothing to revealing, more dressing for comfort than style. I popped into the en suite and walked over to the basin as I grabbed my makeup bag. Slowly, I wet a cloth with some makeup remover and began wiping my face. With every swipe another piece of my face was revealed to the cool air of the room. When I had finished I quickly washed my face and left the en suite, heading towards the small hot tub that was in the room adjacent to mine.

When I entered I was met by the harsh smell of bleach and chlorine. The smell stinging my nose and eyes but I paid it no matter. I was going to relax.

I looked down at the fizzing, bubbling water and tried not to think. Which worked for about twenty seconds. I shook my head trying to rid myself of the Doctor's look of admiration and flirtatious comments towards Reinette as I lowered myself into the steaming water.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the edge. The water swirling over my sore muscles. After a few minutes I had all but fallen asleep.

Somewhere between a dreaming and sleeping I heard someone clear their throat. Slowly I opened my eyes to find the Doctor leaning against the door, dressed in swimming shorts.

I quickly sat up, now wide awake as I cast my eyes to the towels I had brought with me.

I reached for it as I said, "Sorry. I was just leaving".

I quickly lifted myself from the steaming water and wrapped the towel around me before quickly making my way towards the door.

"You don't have to go", the Doctor said running a hand through the hair on the back of his head, "Matter of fact I kind of wanted to talk to you".

"Oh, well I'm really tired. Maybe tomorrow. Goodnight", I said squeezing past him and slipping out of the door.

"Rose?", he said in a way that made me stop and turn towards him again as I had opened my door.

"Yeah?"

"You alright?"

"I'm always alright", I lied

He just looked at me as I walked through my door before looking back again.

"Well, goodnight", I said closing my door behind me, my fingers hesitating for a moment before locking the latch with a sharp click.


	3. Old Kettle

That night I had trouble sleeping. My bed just didn't feel comfortable any more. I tried to get more comfy by kicking my legs around and rotating my hips but nothing felt right. By the time it was, what would have been the wee hours of the morning, I gave up on trying to find comfort in sleep.

I crawled out of bed and popped into the en suite for a quick rinse. I made sure to use my favourite bubbling wash from Tar-een 7 that smelled somewhere between an apple and jicama. When I had finished washing I turned the temperature of the water up and closed my eyes as the stream cascaded down my spine.

After a few moments of blissful warmth the water suddenly turned searing. I yelped as I tried to avoid the water and turn off the faucet. After what seemed like forever, the water stopped. I jumped out of the shower and grabbed my robe that was hanging nearby.

I tugged my robe on quickly, which was a mistake. The scratchy fabric rubbed against my body painfully. I slowly took off the robe and looked in the mirror.

There were red burn marks running down my arms to my wrist. My legs had mostly been spared apart from a section on one of my lower calves. My back however, was dreadful. There was hardly a spot that wasn't red or starting to blister.

I tried to lift my arms over my head but found that it was too painful. I could feel my skin starting to become less pliant as it began to dry. I took out a lotion from the cupboard and squeezed a sizeable amount into my hands. Slowly I began to rub all the areas that had been affected that I could reach. My burns stinging from the chemicals in the lotion, but stinging was better than scarring.

Eventually my burning skin numbed and I was able to dress and pull my clothes on over my head slowly. When I had finished I realized that my burns would be exposed for everyone to see so I began to look for another change of clothing. I changed out of my sleeved shirt and capris and into pants and a tank top with a long sleeved button up shirt over it.

I walked over to my door after putting some shoes on. I grabbed the handle and turned it only to find that it was still locked from the night before. I quickly let the thoughts that had began to run through my head fade as I turned the latch.

Silently I walked through the corridors as I headed towards the kitchen. As I passed through the console room I heard the Doctor muttering through the grating. If he had noticed my presence he didn't make it known as he continued to work on the ship.

When I hit the kitchen I walked over to the old fashioned kettle and picked it up. I wasn't exactly sure why we didn't have an electric one but I wasn't about to start complaining. I had always like the old kettles better, I enjoyed going through the simple motions of making tea in them. The steps always seemed to calm my mind as I focused all my attention on them.

I walked over to the sink and filled up the kettle making sure to close the spout from when the Doctor had forgotten, which was always. I turned the gas on the range on and lit the flame as I set the kettle down. I felt a spike of pain that radiated from my back when I was reaching up on my tip toes to grab the contain that we kept the tea in. I quickly grabbed it and then went to fetch a mug. I settled on a swirly black and blue mug. I set both on the table and went to the drawer next to the flatware and searched around for some pain reliever. I found the small bottle that the Doctor and I shared. I quickly opened the bottle and took out a tablet before slipping the rest into my pocket.

The kettle began to whistle and I took it off the heat. I slowly poured myself a cuppa and replaced it on the heat before snuffing the flame. I sat down with my back facing the doorway as I plopped the bag in, occasionally poking the tip of my finger in to test how hot it was.

Halfway through my tea and quite a while after I had taken the pain medicine I was jolted from my thoughts by a voice.

"You're up early".


	4. Mr Sneakity-sneak

"Bleeding hell! You could scare a person to death doing that. How do you even do that?", I asked as I looked at the tall frame bent against the wall.

"Noise cancelling shoes from the Alteras belt", He said pushing himself off the wall and towards the still warm kettle.

"What, really?", I asked.

"Nah. I'm just a Mr. Sneakity-sneak", he said with an over exaggerated wink.

I rolled my eyes trying to hide a small smile behind my cuppa.

"So what's up? Why so early?", he asked as he poured a cuppa for himself.

"Oh", I said as I took a sip, trying to figure out a reason for my early morning escapades.

He turned back around and raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his steaming cup, resting against the counter.

There was a noise from the console room and I turned around, happy for the distraction.

"Boss, why is your bleeding space ship acting up?", Mickey asked loudly walking straight for the Timelord.

"What do you mean?", he asked, his brows knitting together, as he placed his cuppa on the counter behind him.

"I mean why the hell did your ship decide to make my bed disappear. I fell four feet! Four bleeding feet onto the cold floor!", he said.

"Hmm", he said rubbing his jaw slightly before turning to me, "Rose did you notice anything strange? After all you are up rather early".

Before I could answer a loud shout came from the console room.

The Doctor bolted from the room towards the shouting.

Madam De Pompadour was crouched on the jump seat, "There was a thing!".

"What thing?", the Doctor asked glancing around the floor.

"I don't know! It was a thing with sticks of metal in its mouth. It was as quick as a mouse!", she said glancing about the floor.

"Wires?", I asked coming up behind the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at me and then back at the ground as something ran by my foot with a mouth full of wires.

"Coral Mite!", the Doctor shouted as he started to point his sonic at the little beast.

"What's a coral mite?!", Reinette screeched.

The Doctor ignored her as he sent a wave of physic energy towards the creature which effectively put it to sleep.

I walked over and picked the small creature up. It was fluffy and closely resembled a mouse apart from its tale and appetite. It's tale I found out after a few moments was actually more like a primates. It wrapped around my fingers gently as I carried it.

"Right, I am just going to pilot us to a local planet that has everything that little guy needs to survive and thrive. I have to see how much damage its done to the TARDIS", he said then directed his attention to the King's whore, "Reinette are you alright?".

"Oh Doctor! What a fright I have had. Perhaps you wouldn't mind accompanying me to my chambers when you have checked on your ship, I fear I am too weak to go alone", she said with her arm raised to her head, as if she were planning to swoon.

 _Not very likely_ , I thought with a small smirk knowing that the Doctor would never fall for something as cliché as that.

The Doctor had scooted beneath the centre of the console and was busy grabbing wires, "Of course Reinette. Won't be more than a couple ticks".

He looked worried as he surveyed the damage.

"Is it bad?", I asked gently tugging on my button up.

"I can see where it got into by I can't very well tell the extent of the damage. I need to make a trip to drop the mite off. That should help to determine what damage it did to the temporal stabilizers and flux kilometre", he said sliding out from under the console.

I nodded as finished his explanation, "Right so where are we going to drop her off at?".

"Him and I was thinking Smithac", he corrected as he started to type in coordinates.

I watched as he made his way around the console.

"It will have everything the Mite will need", he trailed off as he sent us through time and space.

The TARDIS lurched to the side and if I hadn't already prepared myself by grabbing onto the railing I surely would have flown straight into the console.

I heard the Doctor yell, "Reinette!", before he dive bombed to catch the French courtesan, who had decidedly not held on to anything.

They rolled slightly as they tumbled to the grating, the Doctor using his body as a shield.

By the time we had landed the Doctor was on top of Reinette and inches away from her face. He quickly stood up and looked over in my direction, slightly pink, as he helped her rise. I cast my eyes in the other direction to avoid his.

Mickey cleared his throat, "Not to interrupt or anything, but is there suppose to be white gas streaming in from the ceiling?".

The Doctor looked up, "Out".

"What?", Mickey asked.

"Out! Out, out, out! Everybody out!", he yelled and dragged Madam De Pompadour towards the doors as Mickey and I fled as well.

On his way out the Doctor, in his haste, managed to grabbed his trench coat off of the coral strut and tug it along with him.


	5. Smithac

"No. No. No. No!", the Doctor yelled in frustration.

"What? What is it? What was that gas?", I asked trying not to look at how Frenchie had positioned herself as close as possible to the Doctor.

"Deadly gas. We were lucky that Mr. Mickey spotted it so quickly. Thanks for that. Oh and look, we are on Smithac. Looks like the spacial quadrolomiter is still working just fine", he said with a wave of his hand as he pulled out his sonic to scan the TARDIS.

"So what else is wrong?", Mickey asked

"Well", he dragged out, "The TARDIS may have locked herself down".

"What, so we can't get back inside?", I asked.

"What? You want to be in there with all that gas?", he asked looking confused.

I looked at him like he was being ridiculous, which he was, and moved my hand in a circular motion "After the gas dissipates".

"Oh", he said then glanced at his sonic, "Well we will be able to once the gas is rendered harmless, but until then no. It should only take a couple of days. A week tops."

"What are we to do during that time?", Reinette asked.

The Doctor turned around and pointed behind us.

For the first time since landing on Smithac we took in our surroundings.

We were sat on a beach with light chocolate sand. There were waves crashing against the sand about twenty meters to the left of where the TARDIS had parked. There was a tropical forest.

Behind us, where the doctor had pointed, was a medium sized bungalow that had along dock that extended out into the sea. There were what looked like canoes attached to the farthest end. Farther out into the water there was another small island that had at least six or seven larger buildings on. Scattered on the beaches were an assortment of other bungalows ranging in size.

"What's that then?", Mickey asked.

"Mickey please do try to keep up. Sunny tropical weather, absolutely beautiful beaches, somewhat seclusion, a check in station", he said waving his hand at the bungalow near us, "This is about as human as it gets".

"We're on a resort planet, aren't we?", I asked.

"Righty-oh Miss. Tyler. Smithac, a lesser known resort planet, but one of the best. Plus it is perfect for the coral mite as this is one of their natural habitable worlds.", he said.

"Hey wait a mo. You knew this would happen, didn't you? That's why you chose this planet over all the others. You knew there was a chance the TARDIS would go into lock down", mickey accused.

"Would you rather have been stuck on a world made of just coral. No food or water?", he asked.

"I'm not complaining", I said over my shoulder as I trudged off towards the check in bungalow.

In the background I heard Reinette ask, "What is a resort?"


	6. Cal Vita Mor Mar

Walking into the check in we were greeted by a woman with light blue hair and rather fair skin. She was wearing a bikini bathing suit top that the same rich orange that sunsets display. She wore tight fitting denim trousers.

"Hello welcome to Smithac. I am Cada and I will be your personal hostess during your time with us", she said smiling.

"Hello Cada. I'm the Doctor and these are my companions Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith. This is Reinette Poisson", he said gesturing towards Reinette.

"It is very nice to meet you all", she said sincerely, "How long will you be staying with us", she asked.

"A week", Mickey half grumbled still not overly happy about where we were.

"And how many suites shall you be needing?", Cada asked.

After no one answered for a moment I shot a quick glance at the Doctor, who was also looking at me.

 _What, was he trying to get my permission, my blessing, to share a room in paradise with the Reinette?_ , I thought _, Yeah, like that's going to happen_.

I turned to look at Cada again in order to avoid looking at the Doctor, "We will be needing four."

I saw out of the corner of my eye Reinette folding her arms over her stout chest.

"Lovely!", the hostess said and directed us towards the rows of canoes.

There was only one mishap with the trip to the island and it involved a certain woman vying for the Doctors attention. About halfway through to the island Reinette had insisted that she was uncomfortable and had tried to move, which had resulted in her tumbling over board and her dress effectively trying to drag her beneath the water. The Doctor had jumped in after her and managed to soak himself rather thoroughly.

When we arrived Cada showed us to our quarters, still a little shaken from the unexpected swim.

Cada explained that each of the bungalows that we would be staying in had a name and a corresponding story that we would learn over the course of our stay. She directed us to a private beach with four bungalows that sat in a line not far from the beach. She gave us all our keys and directed us towards each of our bungalows.

The first bungalow was mine, it was named Vita. The second was the Doctor's to my delight, it's name was Cal. The third was Reinette's, it's name was Mar. The last was Mickeys and his was named Mor.

By the time we had finished room assignments I noticed that the Doctor had disappeared off with Madam into her bungalow.

My heart crawled out from between my toes and I glanced helplessly at the door of Mar.

I was so stuck up in my head that I didn't even notice that Mickey was talking to me until he nudged my shoulder with his own which caused the fabric of my shirt to rub the burns on my shoulder. I shyed away from the contact.

"You alright?", he asked looking at me strangely.

"Yeah. Sorry, yeah. Just kind of got distracted is all", I said, ignoring the now burning sensation slowly travelling down my spine in waves.

I looked out to the shimmering sea and the sun that was setting. The sky painted with a pallet of orange, red, purple and pinks. The clouds slightly more silver than they had previously been. I never could quite get use to waking up and then travelling somewhere where the sun was setting.

"I'll see everyone at dinner", I told Mickey then headed off to Vita.

I missed the look he glare that he cast at Mar as he too went to his abode.


	7. Tired in Teal

After a brief struggle with the lock, I entered into a circular room with a ceiling fan made out of what looked to be silver palm fronds. The room was spacious and had a kitchenette on one of the walls. Above it there was window that gave way to one of the most beautiful views of the ocean that I had ever seen. Along the wall was a table big enough for four. A daybed sat against an open wall of windows. I walked around the circumference towards the three doors that led off of the main room. The first room held a bathroom with a tub tucked away in the corner. The second led outside to the attached gazebo, which was made out of old pieces of drift wood. The ware prevalent on each piece. Strung along the columns closest to the water was a hammock. The third and final door led to a bedroom. There was a bed large enough to accommodate a small family and on the mountain of pillows present there was a gold bundle.

Inside the bundle was a bathing suit, a pair jimjams, and a lovely long, teal high necked, sleeved dress.

After another pain reliever I had become almost numb to the pain that had been radiating from the burns that I had received earlier.

I went to dress in the new gown. Slowly pulling off my clothing to avoid further damaging my skin. It was slow and meticulous but after a few minutes all the required clothing was on the ground. My dress had been secured over my body without a single hitch, however my sleepless night had begun to catch up to me.

I sat down on the bed and wished away my drowsiness as I almost immediately began to fall asleep. Something in the back of my head kept nagging me to stay awake but I had gone too far and I drifted into peaceful sleep as the light from the window quickly turned from orange to a light silvery blue. The waves crashing in the distance as I dreamed of nothing and everything.


	8. Walk on the Beach

Several hours later I awoke, hot and trapped in sheets, to the sound of waves crashing against the beach sand. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I listened to the sounds of the waves as they crashed and had a desire to see them.

I glanced down at my shoes that I had previously kicked off and debated whether of not I wanted to wear them.

I thought about how soft the sand had looked and after a few moments decided to go barefoot.

As I walked out of Vita and took my first step into the sand I instantly applauded my choice. The sand was as soft as baby powder and felt magnificently cool underfoot. I inhaled deeply as I walked towards the shore. There was a slight breeze coming off the cool water. The salt tickling my nostrils and making me smile.

When I came within a couple feet I walked parallel to the water, looking out as slivers of silver fish and glowing blue algae danced in the moonlight.

I walked like so until the urge to dip my feet in became to great. As I walked into the water I let out a surprised gasp as it was a tad bit cooler than I had expected.

I walked for a little while before settling down onto a chunk of sand directly in front of Cal.

The view was breathtaking.

I sat there for about two hours before my eyes began to droop again. Reluctantly I walked back to Vita and sealed myself back into the warm, yet inviting bedroom.

I awoke several hours later to the sound of banging.

With a slight groan I rolled myself over, my feet slapping the ground. Unsteadily I shifted myself onto my feet, nearly going cross-eyed at the pain the shot through my body. Slowly I made my way through the bedroom and towards the door.

I opened the door to find the Doctor and Mickey outside. The Doctor was dressed in his normal brown pin stripped suit while Mickey had changed into a pair of green and blue swim bottoms and a white tee shirt.

"Wha?", I asked groggily.

"Where have you been?", Mickey asked.

"Whatcha mean?", I asked trough a yawn.

"You said you'd see us at dinner, but you never showed", he said looking at me weirdly.

"Oh that's right dinner. That's what I forgot last night. Sorry Micks, I fell asleep", I said now wide awake with the realization.

"I thought that was probably what happened", the Doctor said, "but when you didn't show up for breakfast this morning we started getting worried".

"Wait. What time is it?", I asked glancing at the sun.

"Well in your terms about 10:30AM", the Doctor proffered.

"Remind me set my alarm will ya?", I said turning around to close the door as we walked to the gazebo.

"What's with the fancy get up?", Mickey asked looking me up and down.

"It was on my bed when I went into my room last night. This, a pair of jimjams and a swimming suit. What about you? You've go on something different too. Where did you get those clothes?", I asked.

"He had them in his trench coat, but I got more this morning when Cada came by", he said gesturing towards the Timelord.

"Which reminds me", the Doctor said, "Cada will be by a bit later to work on a schedule for you".

"What do I have to get scheduled?"

"Spa treatments and other activities", he explained, "Basically if you want to do something they have a way of making in happen".

"Right", I said as I glanced over towards the figure emerging from Mar.

Reinette was wearing her hair up and a low cut black shirt that highlighted her breast. She had shorts on that made it look as if her legs went on forever. Her skin practically glowed as she walked over to the group. I wondered at how she could look good in anything no matter the time period or part of space.

At that point the Doctor and Mickey had broken off into their own conversation about what kind of activities there were to do.

"I seem to be 'booked with appointments', as Cada insists on calling it, for the majority of the day", she said towards the Doctor and Mickey, without so much as acknowledging my presence.

 _Finally. Go away already. Go get your nails painted or whatever it is that you are going to be doing. Just go away_ , I thought annoyed.

"Alright", the Doctor said glancing at her for the first time.

"Right, so what are the rest of you doing today?", I asked.

"I've got a massage in about twenty minutes and after that I have a hiking tour that should take a couple hours. Then it's playing in the sea and trying to learn how to surf", Mickey said as he sank down and imitated a surfer with his arms out.

I laughed at the image my mind supplied of Mickey falling face first into a wave, "Have fun with that mate".

"Well I've already checked on the TARDIS this morning and she seems to be slowly repairing herself, but no where close to being done. There's nothing I can do for her right now, so I've got an open day", the Doctor said and looked at me, "What are your plans?"

"I'm probably just going to stay around here. Swim. Sunbathe. Maybe do a little reading if I can convince Cada to bring me a book", I said with a smile, dreaming about a day of relaxation.

We all turned towards the clicking of steps as Cada walked into the gazebo holding a clipboard.

"Mr. Smith it would seem that the hiking tour you were wanting to go on has been move up ten minutes. So we have had to reschedule the time on your massage. I apologize but the good thing is that now you get into your massage earlier and as compensation for the reschedule the resort is going to be providing you with a private surfing tutor for your surfing lessons", she said.

"Sweet. Right, so I'm off guys and unlike Rose, I actually will see you guys at dinner", he teased.

"Miss. Tyler, did I hear that you were wanting to have a quiet day in?", she asked.

"Yes, although a book wouldn't go amiss if you have a chance and it isn't much bother", I said.

"It's no problem at all. I will make sure you get your book. Mr. Smith if you would please follow me I will show you where your massage will be held. Miss. Poisson, you'll need to come with me as well. Since you have the most treatments I will be with you most of the day. Your first treatment is a sugar scrub", she said before bidding us farewell and taking Mickey and the tramp off to their appointments.

My stomach decided then that it was the perfect time to rumble and made itself known.

The Doctor laughed, "Let's get you some food".


	9. Beautiful Jam

"What will it be Rose? Breakfast or lunch?", The Doctor asked rummaging through the kitchenette as he looked for ingredients.

"Bit of both I suppose. Too late for breakfast and too early for lunch", I said sitting at the table.

"Brunch it is!", he said standing up with his arms full of miscellaneous food items.

"Geez are you trying to feed the entire island?", I asked as I went to help him make the food.

"Ah ah ah. No you don't", he said and shooed me back to the table.

I watched as the Doctor quickly threw together a mid-morning feast.

By the time he had sat down, opposite of me, the centre of the table had been covered with half a dozen plates.

"Hope you don't expect me to be the only one eating all this", I said jokingly.

"After all the work I put into making you brunch, it would hardly seem fair", he said with a wink and took a bite out of the piece of toast he had just covered in three layers of jam.

I mirrored him and grabbed another piece of toast, "Suppose you're right".

We ate quietly for a few minutes listening to the waves crashing outside and the songs of, what I assumed were native tropical birds.

I became full not long after the companionable silence had been broken by the Doctor. I looked across the table as he took interest in the view to the left of him through a large window as he chattered out some random facts that he knew about the planet.

He looked beautiful.

His hair was exceedingly spiky this morning. It was like it his hair had decided that it was going to ignore gravity completely. There were toast crumbs on his shirt collar. He had changed his tie. He had on a rich blue tie with tiny little teal pin wheel swirls. He had a lick of jam on the corner of him mouth from when he had devoured his latest piece of toast.

Without thinking about it, for if I had I would have stopped myself, I reached forward and swiped the jam away with my thumb.

The Doctor froze mid sentence and looked at me then at my hand. A look passing across his face before it was gone. I quickly retracted my hand. I could feel my face heating up with the beginings of a blush.

"Right, I should probably go scrub and get into new clothes", I said quickly excusing myself as I got up.

I hustled over to the bedroom door and stepped inside.

"Thanks", the Doctor said suddenly like it had gotten stuck in his throat.

"What for?", I asked confusedly, my arm poised to shut the door.

"Looking out for me", he said seriously then seemed to almost physically shake himself, "Wouldn't want me running around with jam all over myself. I have a reputation to uphold. No one would take me serious. I would be the oncoming jam-face!"

I laughed slightly before retreating into the bedroom.


	10. Salty Breeze

I found that another golden bundle had been placed on my newly made bed.

Inside was a long wet suit that covered my body, apart from my hands, feet, and face. It was black with dark blue accents swirling throughout. There was also a long sunflower yellow dress with a stark resemblance to the dress I was currently wearing.

I popped back into the main room with a towel and the wet suit in hand. I had wrapped the bottle of pain pills in the towel. Glancing about I saw that the Doctor had moved outside and was sitting on the railing between two columns. His hand fiddling with his sonic half-heartedly as he watched the waves.

I set down the items in my hands and watched him through the window. It wasn't very often that I would catch him like this, completely unaware of my presence. It was the only time that I had that I could truly look at him and admire his utter beauty. I stood there for a few precious moments as I gazed at the man that I knew, deep down, that I could never leave.

I watched him before retreating into the bathroom and shutting the door behind me.

After taking a few moments to convince myself that I wasn't going to be burned again, I stepped into the water. This time I had set it to cold so that there wouldn't be any chance for anything to go wrong. It seemed that it would be quite a while before I took a warm shower again.

I quickly, but carefully dried before putting on the wet suit carefully. It seemed to form itself around every curve of my body. I was immediately grateful for the front zipper that came down to my stomach. If it had zipped in the back not only would it have eventually been impossible to put on, but it would have hurt to try. As it was my back was already starting to scream at me again.

Wrapping the towel around my hair and glanced around the floor, I realized that the pill bottle had disappeared.

I popped out of the bathroom and back over to the kitchenette where I began to search for the bottle. I found it after a couple of minutes I found it underneath the day bed. It seemed to have rolled beneath it. Outside, the Doctor had disappeared from the gazebo and was not longer in sight.

I decided to go down to the shore. My hair now dry enough that it blew ever so slightly in the salty breeze. The sun was hot as I explored the beach.

Stopping every so often when something caught my eye, I made slow progress to the waters edge. There were tiny shells and small crustacean like creatures littering the ground. They were miniscule compared to the ones back home, only growing to the size of an acorn. They were light blue and had pink-purple tipped claws. I followed a small group that was running as fast as their little legs could carry them. Suddenly they broke apart and scattered in all directions as a shadow crept into view.

I looked up expecting to see the Doctor but instead I was met with the face of a stranger.


	11. So Unprofessional

The first thing I noticed were his eyes. They were somewhere in between blue and green. He had tiny flecks of gold and charcoal scattered throughout that seemed to make his eyes glimmer.

He was a couple inches taller than me and had dark brown hair that lightly splayed around his ears. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black trousers. He wasn't horribly built but instead more than fairly toned. He looked human though.

"Oh, hello", I said as I sized him up.

"You must be Ms. Tyler", unknown stranger said smiling.

"Yes. Sorry, but you are?", I asked him.

"Oh, right, sorry! Where are my manners? My name is Parr. I was sent by Cada. She wanted me to inform you that the Doctor was needed by Ms. Poisson and it doesn't seem like he will be back anytime soon. Apparently there was a situation with a member of staff and a treatment she had requested. I'm sorry, I don't have all the details, but I am sure that your friends will be more than happy to fill you in when they return this evening. As it is, I am to accompany you today. That is, if you'd like. I know that some aliens do not like to be alone. I am not sure as to what your specific species prefers", he said rubbing his neck, "Actually I am not even sure what your species is".

"Oh, sorry. I'm human", I said apologetically.

"What, really?", he said raising a brow.

"What? Got a problem with humans?", I asked raising an eyebrow and placing a hand on my hip.

"Not at all, I just didn't peg you as human. Much too pretty", he said then seemed to realize what he had said as a blush crept up on to his face, "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry".

I laughed, "You're alright. Not like I'm going to report you to management. Matter of fact I think I'll keep you around. How do you like swimming?"

"Love it, practically live in it", Parr said.

"Good because were going swimming", I said with a large grin.

"Right-o!", he said and quickly disappeared to change into some swim shorts.

I followed another group of the small crab things while I waited and after a few minutes I heard someone running up behind me.

I turned and was met by Parr shirtless.

"You're going swimming in that?", he asked pointing to my surf suit.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?", I asked looking myself over.

"Nothing, it's just I am curious as to why a beautiful woman would cover up so much of her body", he said, again turning slightly pink, "Geez no matter what I do, I can't seem to put a filter up with you, Ms. Tyler".

"So unprofessional", I teased with a small smile.

He turned a tad pinker.

I laughed, "Well I'm not complaining, just by me a drink first".

"Trying to con me into a date already, huh?", he teased.

"Might be", I said, realizing that I actually would like to spend a lot more time with him.

"Not that I'm complaining", he said with a spark of interest in his eye.

"Right then! Swimming for now, drinks for later. And the name is Rose", I said as I took off towards the water Parr in close pursuit.

By the time it was the equivalent of dinner time I had asked Parr to join us all for dinner with the condition of drinks afterwards. He had accepted and had gone to change into something a little more comfortable for dinner. Although, if I'm being honest, I really wouldn't have complained one bit if he wore his swim shorts.

As it was, when Mickey and the others returned we decided to meet up at my bungalow before we walked over.

Parr was the first to arrive. He was wearing a light charcoal blazer with a new starched white shirt and dark pants. He has, wrapped around his neck, a yellow bowtie in the same colour as my dress.

"You know that's not fair", I said standing next to the daybed and looking through a small bag that Cada had produced for me, "You're too handsome to be saddled with me".

"Blimey Rose. You're stunning. Just brilliant", he said his jaw slack.

A familiar shudder coursed though my body at his choice of words.

I looked down to avoid his eyes as he stepped up to me, "Simply beautiful".

He lifted my chain to meet my eyes, his voice taking a hushed, reverent tone, "Beautiful".

I stared into his lively eyes and risked a glance down to his lips, only to look back up to see him doing the same exact thing.

"Who are you?"


	12. Centre of Attention

"Who are you?", the Doctor asked stepping further in to the bungalow.

"Oh hello. That's nice. I'm Parr", he said politely and walked towards the Doctor with his hand out.

"Right. And Parr is?", he said taking the man's hand and looking at me.

"A new friend of mine", I said, my patience already dwindling with his pronounced, more than usual, blatantly rude mannerisms.

"Right. Well we were all headed to dinner so say your goodbyes and-", the Doctor was cut off as Mickey entered the room.

"This must be Parr. Pleasure to meet you. Can't wait to hear everything over dinner, although Rose may have told me about some of the fun you two had today.", he said giving me a wink as he shook Parr's hand.

The Doctor stood frozen with his hand still straight out as if he were still shaking Parr's hand, a scowl painted on his face..

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, "Right. Sure Mickey".

"I hope she did", Parr said, then smirked, "Although I think she would have had more fun if she had been wearing the proper swim attire".

"Dinner?", the Doctor asked finally breaking out of his momentary stupor.

"Yes, Parr is joining us for dinner", I said in a way that left no room for argument.

"Right, well let's be off then", he said as Madam De Pompadour entered the room in a shorter blue high low dress that highlighted her skin perfectly.

I glanced over at Parr and was relieved to see the his attention was still on me. The Doctor however, was looking everywhere but directly at me, which included Reinette.

"Lead the way boss", Mickey said gesturing with his hand to the door as we all piled out and towards the restaurant.

A few minutes later we were all sat at a larger circular table. There was audio of some sort filtering in through the ceiling as there was soft earth-like music drifting slowly down to the table. The lighting was dim.

"So Parr", the Doctor began, "What's a human like you doing all the way out here in Smithac?".

"Yes!", I said loudly and fist pumped.

"Aw man!", Parr said and rested his head on the table and then slowly began comically banging it.

"What?", the Doctor asked, very confused, his brow furrowing.

"I've been avoiding the species question all day. She couldn't get me to tell her. How did you know?", Parr asked the Doctor curiously as our food arrived.

"Superior biology", the Doctor said leaning back in his chair, "but back to the question. What are you doing on Smithac?"

"This is where I work. I came from the Flunn system, just past Polar Nexus 9. I was looking to travel, being brutally honest, but I get to travel way more by working here than I would be able to alone. Plus," he said then looked at me with a spark in his eye, "Travelling alone is no fun at all."

"So you're staff then?", the Doctor said perking up.

"I am. That's how I met Ms. Rose Tyler over here", he said and playfully bopped my nose like the Doctor always did.

The way he used my name made an involuntary shiver go up my spine, which was already starting to tingle as the pain medication was once again wearing thin. However, I had luckily remembered to put the bottle in my clutch before we had left.

"And what a lucky man I am to meet such a woman", he said meeting my eyes then looked at the others, "So Rose wouldn't say, where are you lot from?".

"Far away", the Doctor say quickly before the other humans could answer.

"Really? Guess there is no straight answers with you and your friends Rose", he said and smiled at me then leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I will get you to tell me your secrets before long. I promise you that".

I blushed at his words and became aware that the Doctor's attention had suddenly shifted and was focused on me.


	13. Can We Reschedule?

.

"So Parr", Mickey began just as our plates had been cleared, "What do you do for fun?"

Parr finished a sip of wine and placed his glass down. As he did so his hand brushed gently over my own. I looked up to catch his eye before he looked away towards Mickey.

"Oh, well, I love to travel obviously. When I am here though I love to hike around the island. We have gardens that are specifically grown with rare and endangered plant life. There are trails that lead all around the island. We obviously have the beaches, but that's not the only water on the island. There are pools and waterfalls that glitter. Seriously, they glitter. There's a forest on the opposite side of the island. There are cliffs on the southern tip of the island that is absolutely gorgeous to watch the sunset", he said looking back at me.

"Wait southern tip? Does the sun set in the south here?", I asked as I took a sip of my own drink.

"Yeah. Couldn't you tell earlier?", he asked.

"To tell you the truth I was a bit more concerned with how wonderful the water felt", I said.

Parr shook his head with a smile plastered on his face, "You, Miss Tyler, are something else. Here is one of the most beautiful sunsets in the universe and of course what do you do? Do you think 'Wow, maybe I should admire the beauty?' Nah! You think 'Oh isn't the water just lovely!".

"Well you're one to talk. You weren't watching it either!", I teased with a victorious smile.

"Well, I was watching something even more beautiful. I've seen the sunset a hundred times. I've only seen you once", he said the admiration in his eyes almost searing me.

I was trapped in his eyes. His eyes holding so much, I don't know, wonder and curiosity. For the second time that night he glanced down at my lips.

The Doctor cleared his throat, drawing my attention away from Parr slowly, "Right. Well I think it is more than time for us to return. You all have rather full days tomorrow. Especially you Rose."

"What have I got planned? I didn't sign up for anything", I said raising an eyebrow at the Doctor.

"Oh a ton of stuff. I signed you up for it. You're welcome. Anyway, as I was saying I think it is time to call it a night", he said standing up and brushing his hands down his suit coat to straighten the imaginary wrinkles that had developed.

"I guess that drink has to be rescheduled for tomorrow", I said looking at Parr.

He shrugged his shoulders trying not to look too disappointed, "Better late than never. Goodnight Rose."

He took my hand and kissed it, as it were made of fine china, before turning to walk away. I smiled as I watched him until his silhouette was lost to the night.

As I drew my attention back to my immediate surroundings, I realized that Reinette had moved to the Doctor's side and was practically hanging off of him, "Will you take me to my room?"

My heart sank as the Doctor said, "Of course Reinette".

Mickey looked over at me knowingly and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I crossed my arm over my chest to grab his hand as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here", I sighed unhappily as I watched as the Doctor and Reinette walked side by side down the path towards our bungalows.

We slowly made our way back to our suites. The path seemingly longer than before, but I knew it was just because I had to watch Reinette hang off of the Doctor's every word.

"Do I look like that?", I turned my head and whispered in Mickey's ear.

"Nah, Babe. You look nothing like that", he said in a way that made that seem like a good thing.

I laughed softly.

When we eventually arrived back at the beach Mickey walked me to Vita. The Doctor had already disappeared back to Mar with Madam De Harlot without even a good night. At this point I wasn't even sure as to why I was still hoping for his attention. It was obvious as to who he wanted to spend his time with after all.

"You know, I have a strange feeling that the Doctor doesn't like Parr", Mickey said releasing me out from under his arm.

"What? Why?", I asked my eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.

"Because you like Parr", Mickey said.

"What does that have to do with anything? He's a nice guy", I said getting defensive.

Mickey raised his arms as if to surrender, "I never said he wasn't."

"Right then if it's not that then why doesn't the Doctor like Parr?", I asked.

"He's jealous", Mickey said putting his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

"Right, and I'm a Kahler. Want to see me build an engine powered by quantum loop gravity and a single AA battery?", I laughed so hard that I nearly doubled over.

"I'm serious", Mickey said.

"Yeah and so am I", I said sarcastically, "Mickey you've seen the Doctor. How can you think that he is jealous when he blatantly, obviously isn't?"

"Oh Rose. How can you see everything, yet be so completely blind?", he said shaking his head.

"Just-", he shook his head and looked at me, "You know I'm always here for you Rose. If you need me when this all hits the ceiling; I'm here."

I looked at him still mildly confused, "Okay. Thanks, I think."

He just smiled a sad smile before walking away leaving me at Vita's door with a lot of questions and too few answers that made sense.


	14. Made of Wood

By the time I had gotten dressed into my jimjams there was a knock on the door.

I grabbed the bottle of pills that I had taken from my clutch and walked over to the door to find the Doctor leaning against the frame.

"Hey", I said and turned leaving the door open for him to enter.

"Hi", he said, rocking back on his heels before entering and shutting the door.

I walked to the kitchenette and opened the glass cabinet. I pulled out a small water glass and turned to the sink to fill the glass with water. I placed the filled glass and bottle on the counter ledge as I turned to face the Doctor.

"So what's up?", I asked.

"Your friend", he said.

"Parr. What about him?", I asked folding my arms in front of my chest and I ignoring the pain that had began again at dinner.

"Why did you invite him to dinner?"

"Why shouldn't've I?", I asked getting defensive.

"He's a complete stranger. You don't know a thing about him", he said, his hands in his pockets.

"Says the man I flew off with without knowing anything about", I said with a slightly loud laugh.

"That's different", he said, "He's different".

"How is he different?!", I asked as a spike of pain made me clench my knuckles around the edge of the counter.

"Because he is!", the Doctor said in a loud voice that was tempting a shout.

"That doesn't make any sense!", I yelled back, "You can't just walk in here and question what I do and why I do it!"

"Yes I can!", he yelled.

"How come?!", I huffed.

"What?", he asked his eyebrows furrowing.

"How come you get to just come in here and question me like you are the master of all?"

"I don't."

"You're doing it right now!"

There was silence. The Doctor had set his jaw, the muscles clenched. I looked at him tears welled up in my eyes and not just from our argument.

I turned around, my pain finally hitting me enough to take a pill. I grabbed the bottle and opened it, shaking it at an angle until a pill fell out. I popped to the pill in and washed it down with a large gulp of water.

I turned around and faced the Doctor again.

"What was that?", the Doctor asked, his voice was slightly gravely from all the yelling.

"I think you should leave", I said rubbing a hand down my face.

"What did you do?", he asked as he stepped over towards me.

"Doctor go back to Cal", I said as he approached.

"What did you do?", he repeated as he picked up the bottle, recognizing it.

"Drop it and go home. I'm tired."

"You're in pain. What happened? Did Parr hurt you?", he asked grabbing my shoulders, which made me hiss.

He with drew his hands quickly, his eyes scanning over my body assessing for damage.

"What made you dislike him so much that you would think he would hurt me?!", I yelled at the man in front of me.

"If he didn't hurt you who did?", he asked placing over my forehead.

I refused to answer.

"Rose tell me."

I refused again.

"Rose Tyler. If you don't tell me I swear I'll-", he began to say before I cut him off.

"You'll what? Leave? Drop me off at home and be done with it?!", I shouted, "You really want to know?!"

"Yes!", he said earnestly.

"It was the TARDIS", I said and turned around ripping the zipper of my dress down my back, "Happy now?!"

"Rose", he whispered as he saw the many angry, red burns.

He gently ran his hand down the sides of the zipper pulling them further apart to gauge the severity of my injuries. I involuntarily shivered as his hands gently caressed the edges of the burns. It was almost impossible to breath with him so close.

"You should have told me", he said quietly pulling out his sonic screwdriver then trying to find the right setting for dermal regeneration.

"No, I shouldn't have had to tell you. You always notice! Every single detail is collected and computed in an instant with you!", I said, "But I get why it wasn't Doctor. Why my being injured didn't register to you. Ever since you brought Reinette with us you've been to busy flirting to fill my position that you've forgotten that the position was filled!"

"What are you talking about?!", he said yanking at his hair.

I had had enough. There were tears cascading down my face now. I couldn't do this with him right now.

"Get out", I said shaking him off just as he found the right setting.

I bolted into my room and locked the Door before collapsing on my bed.

I heard the Doctor try my door. First trying to open it with his hand but finding it locked. The second with his sonic screwdriver to no avail, as the door was made of wood.


	15. I Couldn't Wait

I woke up a few hours later in the dark. I was surprised to find that my burns didn't hurt, but then I remembered taking a pill. I coughed a few times, my throat dry as I remembered the Doctor and I's quarrel.

I swiped my hands across my face and found the dry salty tracks of where my tears had fallen.

I hated fighting with him.

I rolled off the bed and trudged over to a mirror.

My eyes were swollen and my hair was a mess. There were pieces of hair stuck to my neck with sweat. The roots of my hair were starting to get dark again as my hair grew out.

I looked back to my bed were my jim jams still lay, having never changed into them.

 _I really need to stop falling asleep in my clothes_ , I thought as I looked down at my yellow dress the back still unzipped.

I zipped the dress up then brushed at my hair as I heard a muffled noise from outside my door.

There was dim light pouring into the room from underneath the door.

I crept over to the lock and pressed my ear to the wood. It sounded as if someone was searching for something. The noise suddenly stopped and there were footsteps.

I slowly and silently backed away from the door as a shadow crossed in from of it.

There was a moment where I thought that the shadow was going to try to open the door but as it moved away nothing happened.

I took a deep breath moving back over to the door. I looked at the handle and decided to face whoever it was, but hoping it wasn't the Doctor. I silently opened the latch and turned the handle slowly, the door opening a crack.

 _What?_ , I thought as I was met with the sight of a hundred small lights bouncing lightly about a foot above the ground.

I opened the door completely and walked into the centre of the room.

"Hello", a voice said from behind me.

I turned quickly and saw Parr sitting at the small table; A bottle of wine in a cooler on the table.

"Parr? What are you doing here?", I asked then glanced at the clock on the microwave, "And at one in the morning?"

He quietly laughed.

"I guess I couldn't wait any longer for that drink" he said gesturing to the wine on the table.

"Guess not", I said raising an eyebrow then facing the small balls of light again, "What are they?"

He smiled and came up behind me, "They are call Caltur. Simple multicellular organisms that are neither plant nor animal. They seem to bob up and down because they send off an electrical charge, which creates the slight hovering affect. Also the lighting."

I watched the lights as Parr directed me towards the table, "They are just so beautiful".

"You're more so", he said as he opened the wine to let it breathe.

"How did you get them all here? Which reminds me: How did you get in?", I asked looking at him.

"I have some in glass vases at home. I use these opposed to regular electrics or chemical reaction electrics. Also the door was wide open. When I saw that I wanted to make sure you were okay. I found that your door was locked", he smiled with a hint of humour in his eyes, "I was going to knock but I heard some quite adorable snoring sounds coming from the bedroom."

"Oh no", I said burying my face in my hands, my face warm.

"Hey I think your snoring is cute", he said removing my hands from my face and then proceeding to pour the wine into glasses before taking my hands again.

"I'm glad I came over. It looks like you could use some cheering up", he said and cupped my cheek gently rubbing a thumb over the swollen bags under my eyes.

"I-", I started, not knowing really what to say, but was hushed as a finger was placed on my lips.

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to or if it will make you sad, because Rose Tyler, you deserve to be happy", he said looking me directly in the eye before glancing down at my lips.

"Thank you", I said as I too looked at a pair of lips.

Slowly I leaned a little closer only to find Parr doing the same thing. My eyes snapped shut as our lips collided.

The kiss was chaste and over much too soon but completely perfect.

I looked over at Parr and found him smiling like and idiot and rubbing his neck, "I really didn't know if you'd let me do that."

"Shut up", I teased and leaned in again.

The next kiss wasn't as chaste and after a few moments I felt his tongue quickly swipe across my bottom lip begging for access. Almost immediately I opened my mouth slightly as he plunged into my mouth. Our tongues battling for dominance, neither winning or losing before both retreating as the kiss came to an end.

I watched him as a smile crept onto his face, "Rose Tyler, would you care to dance?"

"But there's no music."

"Who needs music."

I laughed as he stood up and bowed before taking my hand and lacing a kiss on the back of it.

"That", he said, "That right there. Your laugh. That's all the music I need."

I stood up my face pink with excitement as we began to dance slowly in the centre of the room, completely unaware that anyone else existed. Especially anyone who had happened to be walking by on the beach after and argument. Most assuredly anyone who had stopped to watch the scene play out as both their hearts shattered.


	16. Friends

The next morning I woke up in the day bed with the sun shining on my legs.

I thought back to last night. A smile began to grow on my face. I covered it with a blanket to hide the stupid grin.

I remembered Parr surprising me with his take on 'a drink'.

 _Hopeless romantic_ , I thought slightly laughing.

I remember dancing to no music and drinking red wine in a two day old dress and Parr not minding one bit. Talking on the day bed until three when Parr had to go so that he could still get some sleep before work. I remembered falling asleep watching the dancing lights hovering above the floor.

I slowly pulled myself out of bed and with a yawn and a stretch, stood up.

It took me a couple more moments of stretching before I shook myself and glided happily into my bedroom. Another golden bundle laid on the bed, which had been made. Inside the bundle was a light, long sleeved, sky blue dress and a pair of white sandals. There was also a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The last thing in the bundle was a short aqua dress.

I quickly showered then dressed in the sky blue dress.

Not long after I had changed into my clothing a quick knock on my door called me back into the main room.

Opening the door I found Cada.

"Good morning Miss. Tyler. You're looking rather lovely today. Your friends are planning to take breakfast at Cal this morning if you cared to join them. Also it seems that all of your appointments for today have been cancelled in favour of a guided trip to the Feldspar Falls", she said handing me the clipboard that she had been holding.

"Um, okay?", I said taking it.

"Breakfast will be served in a few minutes so, if I could, I would suggest that we head over there", she said with a smile.

"Alright. Thanks Cada", I said closing the door behind me as we walked towards Cal.

"Miss. Tyler", Cada began, "If you don't mind, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course. What's up Cada?"

"Actually, it's a couple questions."

"Okay that's fine. What's on your mind?"

"You travel a lot don't you?"

"Yep."

"Do you ever offer to take people with you?"

I thought back to a few days ago when the Doctor had invited Madam de Pompadour aboard. My heart aching a little as I thought back to when the universe confirmed that I wasn't good enough for the Doctor. Why I had even thought I could be with him, I didn't know. I wasn't accomplish or important or well anything other than plain old Rose Tyler, who didn't even finish her A levels.

I cleared my throat before giving Cada the answer, "Yeah".

My voice was slightly shaky but not enough for Cada to notice as we stepped up on to the walk way.

I turned my head as a man walked in front of me. He had dark purple hair that was almost black, which had been tucked into a pill box chef's hat. His light pale, scale like skin seemed to shimmer as he moved. He was pushing a hovering cart of food and was moving towards the gazebo. On the cart there was everything anyone could want, however all I cared about was the steaming pot of tea and pile of toast that was stacked so high I thought it would fall over.

I looked over at Cada who simply smiled at me before directing me to the table that everyone else was sitting at in the middle of the gazebo.

I walked over and sat down beside Mickey who was looking at the food with that twinkle in his eye that only guys got when it came to food. I kicked off my sandals and rested my feet on the surprisingly smooth wood. It was slightly cool from the sea breeze.

"Morning Rose", Mickey said as he grabbed a large spoon full of what looked like bright blue scrambled eggs, "Thank you Lionel. It looks great".

"Morning", I said smiling and looked at the pile of toast that the man, Lionel had just set down in front of me, "Thank you".

He gave me a smile and winked.

I looked around the table and realized something. The Doctor was missing. Reinette was sporting a new expression that could only be described as pouting. Her lips were slightly pursed and her eyebrows were furrowed ever so slightly.

"Where's the Doctor?", I asked as I lathered some jam on to a slice of toast.

"He said he had a thing he had to do", Mickey said between mouthfuls of the blue eggs and chomps of what I assumed was space bacon.

"So when is he coming back?", I asked taking a bite out of the jammed bread in my hand.

"He didn't say", Reinette said in a voice that told me she was fuming.

I put my toast down and looked at Mickey. He met my eyes and I could tell that there was much more to the Doctor's sudden disappearance than he had let on. He looked over at Reinette and I understood. Whatever reason the Doctor had given for his disappearance had upset Reinette.

 _They must have had their first couples figh_ _t. Must have been pretty bad if the Doctor was the one to leave_ , I thought to myself as I sipped half-heartedly on a cuppa.

No one said much after that just general things. Like, 'I'm going scuba diving today' or 'I'm going to get my nails painted'. After what seemed like forever the meal was over and the others went about their plans for the day.

"Miss Tyler, I believe it is time for your tour", Cada said as she handed me the clipboard that I had forgotten on the table.

"Oops. Thanks Cada. Right, so where are we headed?", I asked as I followed her down the stairs.

"We are heading towards the mainland. The falls on the island are beautiful but they do not have the properties that the Feldspar Falls do. The ones of the island are made from Jumping Jupiter", she said.

"What's Jumping Jupiter?", I asked as we padded towards the canoes that led off the island.

She hesitated a moment as she took her next step before continuing on, her voice slightly higher pitched as if I had peaked her interest "Jumping Jupiter is a type of water based organic energy inducing fluid. It is slightly thicker than water. It glitters in the sunlight. The liquid conducts harmless natural electrical currents that come from the planet and the air, which gives it it's glittering effect. Have you never seen or heard of it?"

"No. It sounds amazing though", I said smiling.

"If you don't mind me asking Miss Tyler, you come from far away don't you?"

"Farther than you'd believe"

"Try me", she said raising and eyebrow but quickly back peddling as she realized that she had said her thoughts out loud, "Oh my Gods. I am so sorry. I didn't mean-"

I held up my hand which silenced her immediately, he eyes were wide, "Cada do you want to know what I think?"

She shook her head 'yes'.

"I think we are going to be good friends."

She let out a loud breath, "Gods. That's a relief! Here I was thinking you were going to yell my head off."

"So friends then?"

"Friends."


	17. Why Compare

"Well this is where I leave you", Cada said, "Unless you'd like me to stay until the guide gets here."

I looked at the shore that was a couple meters away. I reached down and kicked off my shoes. I picked them up before stepping out of the canoe and into a couple inches of water, the only thing that separated me and the dry beach.

"Is alright Cada", I said walking backwards towards the shore, "I wanted to go check something out anyway. Thanks for taking me".

"If you need anything at all just ask", she said and as she reversed her position and began rowing back towards the island.

"Thanks. I will!", I said my feet hitting the warm, dry light chocolate sand.

I turned and headed towards the blue box that stood off in the distance.

It was the first time I had seen her in days. The blue paint almost looked surreal against the light brown sand. I smiled as I thought back to all the adventures the Doctor and I had in the magnificent ship.

I walked over to the blue doors and leaned against then as I slid down unto my bottom. The wood surprisingly comfortable against my back, the sand warm and soft through the cotton polyester blend of my dress. The sun warmed my skin. I closed my eyes and rested my head back at an angle. Old memories awakened as I thought from the beginning of our travels till now. A smile crept onto my face as I recalled every ridiculous situation that the three of us had been in. It didn't last long though as my thoughts began to drift to more recent memories.

I watched as the Doctor jumped through a one way mirror and thousands of years into the past not even giving me a single glance before he left as a way of apology. I watched as the glass shattered and my heart jumped as I remembered the pain I had felt I that instant. It was like my soul had been shredded in my chest before being sucked out completely. When he had returned I felt as if I could breath right for the first time in five and a half hours.

I was cast into the fire as the memory of the Doctor's invitation to Madam De Pompadour was brought to the forefront of my mind. That was all that it took to break me again, as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I couldn't help it. Reinette had changed everything.

Why had I ever thought that I had a chance with the Doctor? I was just a shop girl with no A levels. Hell, I wasn't even that. I wasn't anything special. Ten a penny, me. I was just a stupid ape. Reinette on the other hand was everything I wasn't. She was accomplished. She did things. She was talented. Hell, she made a the King of France fall for her. She was remembered throughout history. How could I ever dream to compete with someone like that.


	18. Drift

I brought my knees up to my chest and hugged them. My tears had stopped running and the only evidence that remained were my red eyes. My eyes, however, didn't care that they would give me away if someone came by. They were too busy watching the waves as they drifted up and down the beach.

I didn't realize that the door had swung inwards until I was lying on my back with my knees still pressed to my chest halfway into the TARDIS.

"Rose?!", the Doctor yelped before he tripped over me and fell face first into the sand.

I sat up and looked at the Doctor who was spitting sand out of his mouth.

"Sorry", I said swiping at the last of the tear trails that had dried on my face.

He spat another few times, hunched over as he did so.

"Are you okay?", I asked as he stood up.

"Yeah", he said dusting himself off, facing away from me.

"Are you?", I asked again.

"Yeah", he repeated before spitting again.

"Are you okay?", he asked turning around.

I nodded and as I did I noticed that there was sand on his cheek. A line that connected his jaw to his eye. His eyes were tinged with red. His voice was slightly rough.

"What were you doing down there?", he asked looking down at me.

I looked at the sandy trail that could only have been caused by tears, "What's wrong Doctor?"

"What are you on about?", he asked a confused look masking his face.

I looked pointedly at his cheeks. He reached up with his hand and felt the sand. His eyes widened slightly before he brushed vigorously at his face, knocking the particles off.

"Doctor", I said coming to stand right in front of him, "Why are you upset?"

"I don't know what you are talking about", he said his face flat apart from a muscle that was twitching in his jaw, "I'm not upset. When have I ever been upset. I don't get upset."

"Stop it. I know you've been crying. Did I do this?"

"Do what? I haven't the faintest clue as to what you are referring to. However, so long as we are on the subject of crying: Why were you crying?"

"Damn it Doctor! Can't you ever just answer a question with out trying to find a way around it?"

"Who says I am trying to avoid the question?"

"If you're not then answer it"

"Answer which?"

"How about any of them! Why were you crying? Why are you upset? Did I make you upset?"

"Something happened and I do not want to discuss it."

I huffed past him, my fists clenched in anger.

"No, you're just going to do what you always do: Sit on in alone and feel like whatever it is is completely your fault! It gets old especially because the majority of the time it isn't. You know, if you were a human I would have given up on you already! I have tried so hard to get you to open up to me. To trust me! But at this point I don't even know why you keep me around!", I yelled back to him before finally allowing myself to break down as I ran off down the beach and away from the Doctor.


	19. Falls

I ran.

Ran and ran.

My feet roughly pounding the ground.

I must have been quiet a way away from the TARDIS and her driver because by the time I looked back the TARDIS was no longer on the horizon.

My breath coming in as deep gasps and going out in stressed exhales.

My eyes and mind heavy laden with emotion that I could barely see. So when I ran into something slightly soft, my resolve to stay standing left me.

"Rose!", I heard a familiar voice shout.

I tumbled to the ground with the man who had wrapped his hands protectively around me.

I opened my eyes and looked down at the man beneath me. Two beautiful green blue eyes looked up into my own. His face mere inches away from my own. I rolled off of him and sat in the sand.

"Rose", Parr said carefully as he used his elbows to prop himself up.

He reached over and set his hand lightly on my shoulder.

I crumbled.

My sobs began to rack my body again as Parr pulled me into his strong arms.

With one hand he stroked my back in loving circles as the other was set around my waist pulling me closer into him.

He gently kissed my temple as I cried, "It's okay Rose. It's okay now, I'm here love".

I buried my head into his shoulder.

Slowly my tears began to dry up before coming to a stop.

"Are you okay?", he asked.

I shook my head.

"Do you want to talk about it?", he asked.

I shook my head again.

"You sure?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Do you want to think about it a little bit before you decide that you want to face whatever it is that's bothering you alone?"

I nodded.

"Okay then. How about we get you to that tour? After all, I hear you have an amazing guide", he said hoping up and smiled at me in a way that told me that he was my tour guide.

I nodded again as he helped me up.

We walked along the beach as Parr babbled about how the coral reef that surrounded most of the island was over ten thousand years old and how the tree over there, the one with the orange and red flowers, is one of the oldest on the island.

The longer we walked the further way my problems seemed to become.

Parr was talking while walking backwards at this point pointing to different creatures that swung through the trees like monkeys. They were bright purple and had long, sweeping fur. Parr was very animated about the information that he was presenting, however, in doing so he forgot to pay attention to where he was stepping. He tripped over a piece of driftwood and fell straight on to his bum.

I laughed after I made sure that he was alright.

He looked at me and smiled.

"Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to start singing to get you to laugh", he looked at me seriously, "You do not want to hear me sing. It's like a dead cicada being reanimated by a drunken chicken".

I whacked him in the shoulder smiling as his face broke into a smile.

"Right, where are we going? How much further to the falls?"

"Actually just around this next line of trees. It's just off the beach inside it's own little cove that has a line of rocks that separates the water from the falls from the ocean. It's a natural occurrence", he said as we walked around the line of trees.

"Oh my...", I had no other words to describe the scene in front of me.

As Parr had said, the falls were in their own little cove. There was a small pool and raining down from the cliffs edge was the most beautiful water I had ever seen. The water had a golden orange tinge to it. It was the second most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The swirling of the water gave it a magical feel.

"You know", Parr took my hand and guided me to the left, "I don't exactly know how you managed to get a tour of this place. It's near impossible for offworlders to get permission to come here. This is my first time here too mind you and I've been here quiet a while. That being said, I can not believe that you are allowed to bathe too. Not that you need to bathe or anything, but it's just wow. No one has been given permission like that for oh, six, no, seven hundred years. The last one to take a dip was some alien bloke who helped save the planet. Not quiet sure who he was. The records don't say much as to his identity, just that he helped out. A lot. Then left."

I rolled my eyes at the poor human standing next to me, "Yeah he does that. Quite often. It's infuriating."

"You say that like you know him", Parr laughed.

I smiled realizing that I had said too much.

"You know what they say: You hear a story, you become part of the story", I said as we walked into the shade, the cliff almost directly above us.


	20. Pool of the People

I sat down in the shade as Parr went over to a small bundle of a bag next to the waters edge.

"Here", he said handing me a towel.

He reached over again and handed me a pair of swimming shorts with a tank top, both of which were a deep shade of red. The kind of red that I had only seen one other place, the TARDIS wardrobe. The kind that was part of those funny arched collar headdress the Doctor once showed me.

I began to doodle in the sand with a small stick. I drew the sweeping arched headdress. It wasn't very good but at least I could tell what it was if I closed one eye and tilted my head to the side.

"This colour", I said as I held up the soft cloth bottoms, having set the twig down, "does it have some sort of importance?"

Parr looked at the article of clothing then back at me, "Yeah. It is symbolic. This place, it's like a shrine".

"What to?", I asked.

"One of the greatest races in all of time and space", he began but he didn't get far.

"Timelords", I said.

Parr looked at me funnily, "How did you know that?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Lucky guess."

"Pretty lucky", he said with a raised brow, "considering the fact that only a handful of people I have known know about them. You really are something aren't you?"

"Me? I'm nothing special. Ten a penny", I said as I stood up.

"Now that's not true and I hope you don't really think that because seriously I don't think I have ever met anyone", he paused for a moment to feign thinking, "Yeah, I've never met anyone quite quite like you".

I laughed and whacked him on the shoulder for the second time that day, "Right so let's get you changed into something a bit more revealing shall we?"

"Oh, uh, do I have to?", I said thinking about my burns for the first time that day.

"Well if you want to soak that beautiful dress of yours you can but it will be a very wet canoe ride back to Vita", he said.

I looked at him self consciously, "It's just..."

"What is it?", he asked his brows slightly knitting together in confusion.

My words tumbled out of my mouth quickly because I feared that if I thought about them I wouldn't be able to bring myself to tell him, "I have burns along the majority of my body. They happened a couple days ago. I've been taking pills for the pain."

Looking down, I took a deep breath and steeled myself for his response to what I had told him.

"May I see?", he asked quietly.

I nodded and instantly felt Parr's hands on my zipper.

The zip echoed slightly along the cliff wall.

"Change", was the only thing that he said as he looked at the series of burns.

I turned around, tears stinging my eyes as I bundled the clothes in my arms before setting off to find a tree to change behind.

A few minutes later I came back to find Parr standing at the waters edge.

I crept over completely aware of the burns that mass littered my body.

"Come here. Step into the water", he said with an almost loving tone.

I stepping down into the water and suddenly was washed over with a golden hue.

"What's happening?", I asked slightly fearful.

"Regeneration energy, well I say regeneration energy, more like residual regeneration energy dust", he said.

I looked him straight in the eye, meeting his eyes for the first time since I had changed, "What do you mean? That can't possibly be."

"Lay back", Parr instructed.

I obeyed and watched as my body was completely covered in golden energy. I could feel my burns shrinking into nothing. My body becoming stronger and full of the energy that I had been missing since Reinette had joined our group.

"It is", Parr started to explain again, "Legend says that there was once a war. The greatest war in all of time and space-"

"The Last Great Time War", I said immediately.

"That's the one. Legend tells of a man who fought on the side of the universe. He destroyed his people, the Timelords, to save all of creation. All of causality. The mass sacrifice of all of those people created ripples in time, though out all of space. Like echoes. This waterfall for instance is one of those said echoes. The ghost of a species. Their final farewell to the universe."

I practically threw myself out of the water, much to Parr's surprise.

"Rose?", he yelped confusedly as he dodged to avoid a splashing wave of water.

"I have to go!", I shouted over my shoulder as I ran towards the beach, not even bothering with the towel.

I could hear Parr calling after me but I didn't have the time to care.

The only thing on my mind as I raced towards the Doctor, _I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry._


	21. The Suitcase of Doom

**Hello everyone! So, I had thought about doing this for a while but LilienRose managed to completely convince me. For the next twenty or so chapters I will be going back to the beginning and writing the Doctor's point of view from then until now. Yay! Anyway, thanks again for reading!**

"Madam De Pompadour!", I shouted through the fireplace, "Still want to see those stars?"

"More than anything", Reinette said as she popped down to the floor.

"Give me two minutes. Pack a bag."

"Am I going somewhere?", the French aristocrat asked.

"Go to the window. Pick a star. Any star."

I turned towards the TARDIS' open doors and ran up the ramp.

Piloting the TARDIS to France was surprisingly effortless, almost as if the TARDIS was excited to go.

Rose was off to the side with Mickey. She watching my every move. I tried to ignore the somewhat pleasing sensation it brought.

A few moments later the TARDIS materialized and I went to get the waiting woman outside the doors.

She was sitting upon a large trunk staring at the stars through the window.

"Any star?", she asked turning her head slightly to acknowledge my presence, not taking her eyes off the lights in the sky.

"Yep", I saying popping the 'P'.

"I want to see your star. Your planet", she said turning towards me as she stood.

My mind caught up to her before anything else, "Nah, how about somewhere nice. Why go home when I'd rather be elsewhere. How about a cosmic ball celebrating King Velfortiti's 400 years of ruling? Or perhaps a trip to see the shining lights of Meltrov or the Borri Beast on G9K7?"

"Shall we decide now?", she asked as I grabbed her trunk.

"Come on. We'll see what everyone else wants to do."

 _What does this woman have in here?!_ , I thought as I dragged it behind me, _That is the heaviest suitcase in existence. She must have packed half of the universe in there!_

"My dear Doctor, reason lets me to believe what I am seeing can not be", She said stuck halfway through the door blocking my way.

I dropped her suitcase and smiled, whispering in her ear, "What did I say about reason?"

"That one must never listen to it", she said turning slightly to look at me.

After a what seemed like forever I sent us all into the vortex.

"Dear Doctor your craft! It is magnificent!", Reinette gawked as she walked gracefully around the console as she dragged her hands around the different part of the console.

I looked over at Rose who's eyes had a far away look to them. They were slightly glazed over like they seemed to get every so often. Almost as if she were having a conversation that she herself was only partially able to process.

The woman at the console gasped and as she brought her hand up to her face. Her fingers coming to rest on her temples. Reinette looked around in awe.

"She is in my mind. Alive, so very alive, yet so very strange".

"She likes you, mind you, I'm not surprised. What's not to like?", I asked the accomplish woman.

"Right boss, mind getting everyone on the same page?", Mickey said from across the room next to Rose.

The same Rose whose face had taken on a very flat blank look.

"Right. Right, Sorry! Mickey Smith, Rose Tyler meet Reinette Poisson, also known as Madam De Pompadour. Reinette, meet Mickey and Rose", I said with a big goofy grin.

I loved introducing people who would never have met without the interference of time travel. It usually made the best friendships. Bob Ross and Bill Gates. John Lennon and Kate Upton. David Letterman and Neil Armstrong. Bill Nye and, well, practically anyone.

"So you are the Doctor's friends?", she asked.

 _Well that's not entirely true_ , I thought to myself as a tugged on my ear slightly.

"Suppose so", Mickey said, "Wouldn't be here else wise would we?"

"Oh you both are more than just friends. You're family, Mickey, the idiot little brother-", I said with carefully chosen words.

"Oy, careful there mate", Mickey said taking mild offense.

"-and Rose is my best friend. Almost like a sister", I said with a wink, "Rose Tyler here keeps me right. Couldn't do a thing without her. She's quite lovely once you get to know her too."

 _Right, that was rude! Stop that_ , I thought as Rose turned to leave.

"Right, I'm going for a nice soak. Don't wait up", she said and turned around towards the nearest corridor.

Mickey caught her arm but I couldn't hear what they were saying as Reinette had began to chatter off so many questions that I feared my ears would fall off.

By the time I had a chance to look over to Rose again she was gone.

Mickey met my eyes and motioned towards the corridor on his left with his head.

"Reinette", Mickey said coming up behind her, "Why don't you tell me about what you like doing in France. I have always been curious about your time period."

I gave Mickey a look that conveyed my appreciation for his welcome distraction.

"My time period? What time period, as you put it, sir, are you from?", Reinette asked Mickey as I bowed out of the room and began my search for Rose.


	22. Lock

I walked almost silently through the corridors. Only my chucks scuffing the ground every so often. The only constant sound was the hum of the TARDIS.

As I approached Rose's door I began to smell chemicals. Either Rose was dying her hair again or she was in the hot tub. As I got closer it was clear that the smell was coming from the room with the hot tub.

I glanced through the open door, which had been forgotten about.

Inside, Rose was lying in the hot water. Her head gracefully tilted back ever so slightly to rest on the ledge. Her eyes were shut gently, her eyelashes dark against her fair skin.

 _Isn't she beautiful_ , I thought before shaking my head at myself, _I could never be so lucky_.

I retreated, silently down the hall. After a few corridors I came to my own room, hardly used. Just far enough from Rose that I felt she had privacy but close enough to get to her quickly if she shouted.

I entered my en suite and quickly changed into swimming shorts. Blue pin stripped wwith a little gold aglet on the drawstring. I gave myself a once over before grabbing a bit more product and respiking my hair.

 _Perfect_.

I pulled a towel off from where it had been hanging on the wall. Heading back towards the corridor, I heard a sound. Well, sounds, voices, to be exact.

Outside Mickey and Reinette were walking through the passageway just outside my closed door.

"So your friend, Rose."

"Yeah"

"Who is she?"

"My best mate"

"So she is your other half? Your wife?

"Never my wife but she was my better half for a long while. I thought maybe someday my wife, but things changed. No longer with her see. Not any more."

 _When did they break up_?, I thought my brows furrowing slightly as I pressed my ear to the door, trying to hear at they got further and further away.

"For the better or the worse?"

"Better for her, not quite sure about me, but to be honest I was starting to get unhappy with everything so it wasn't hard to believe when it happened. Any way your room will be just down here a ways. Funny, I don't think anyone else has a room in this area, but who really knows in this ship."

They had passed and moved out of earshot. I opened my door and stepped out into the corridor. The air seemed a bit cooler against my bare chest as I walked towards the hot tub.

I thought about what Mickey had said about the break up.

 _How did I not realize?_

I was bothered by that bit of information. My thoughts enveloped in a pool of unanswered questions. Determined to find out the answers to at least a couple questions, I walked through the open door to the hot tub.

Rose was still lying back looking as beautiful as ever. Her breathing was deep and far between. Obviously, teetering on the edge of consciousness

I took her in for a moment. Only a moment, allowing myself any more of this small delight would surely be habit forming. I leaned against the door frame.

I softly cleared my throat as not to startle her. Which, clearly, didn't work as she practically leapt into a sitting position. Her eyes wide open.

She spoke as she reached for the towel that had been set neatly near her, "Sorry. I was just leaving".

Before I had a chance to speak she had lifted herself from the water and wrapped the towel around her swimwear clad body. She shuffled quickly towards the door, her exit.

"You don't have to go", I said running a hand through the hair on the back of my head, "Matter of fact I kind of wanted to talk to you".

"Oh, well I'm really tired. Maybe tomorrow. Goodnight", Rose said as she squeezed past me and slipped out of the door.

"Rose?", I said my brows raising in concern as she opened her door.

I could tell something was wrong.

She turned back to me, "Yeah?"

"You alright?"

"I'm always alright"

I watched her as she through her bedroom door before turning back again.

"Well, goodnight"

She closed her door. A moment later I was met with the sound of finality. The clicking shut of a lock. The same lock that hadn't been touched since week one of our travels. The same lock that seemed to cage both my hearts in my chest.


End file.
